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Violence complicates palestinian elections { December 14 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/12/14/violence_complicates_palestinian_elections/http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/12/14/violence_complicates_palestinian_elections/
Violence complicates Palestinian elections
Gunmen storm voting offices
By Associated Press | December 14, 2005
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The Palestinian central election commission shut its doors yesterday in protest after masked gunmen burst into its West Bank and Gaza offices, firing in the air and hauling off computers -- jeopardizing next month's parliamentary election, the first in a decade.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas ordered his security forces to protect election workers, but officials privately conceded that violence could endanger the Jan. 25 vote. The election is seen as a key to establishing a credible government that could conduct peace talks with Israel.
Contributing to the uncertainty, a poll released yesterday showed that nearly a third of the Palestinian people have no faith in any of the potential leaders.
In yesterday's violence, masked gunmen stormed election offices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, firing in the air, destroying computers, and ordering workers out.
In response, election commission director Amar Dweik announced, ''We have suspended all work until we receive security for our offices and our staff."
Election commission head Hanna Nasser met with Abbas, who pledged to protect election workers and ''take required measures against the aggressors," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Abbas.
Mustafa Barghouti, who heads an independent list of candidates, also denounced the violence, saying the election commission must ''maintain its independence and carry out its work free from any violation."
It was not immediately clear whether the protest would affect today's registration deadline, but election officials said if the violence continues, it will be difficult to hold the vote on time.
The violence stems from disputes within Abbas's ruling Fatah party, which is divided between its old guard and younger members. The young generation fears the old guard will select the list of party candidates, instead of relying on results from recent primaries.
The Fatah young guard swept to victory in most of the primaries, but Abbas holds the final say over who will run in the January vote. He is to announce his list of candidates today.
The Fatah infighting could hurt the party, which already faces a tough challenge from the Islamic group Hamas.
Hamas spokesman Ismail Haniyeh said the group had planned to announce its list of candidates yesterday, but decided not to because of the violence.
In Nablus yesterday, eight masked gunmen stormed the election office, fired in the air, and ordered workers out of the building.
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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